Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis. In this Diary entry, the boys are joined by former guest of the show and Twitter pal from Australia, Frith (@PluckyLoser), to discuss the myriad issues surrounding one of the hottest topics in the early going of the 2018 Australian Open.

Jon: Renaming Margaret Court Arena has been a hot topic in tennis over much of the past year, owing in large part to Court’s bigoted views of queer people and her active role in disseminating those views to influence the “no vote” against marriage equality in Australia. And so, since marriage equality is now the law of the land in Australia, and Court’s name still adorns that show court at Melbourne Park, it comes as no surprise that players are being made to grapple with this at this year’s tournament. Still, the issue has been framed in a myopic way, and we’re hoping to make the discourse a bit more elastic.

James: I’m glad you noted that the reason Court has upset people is not simply because she holds beliefs that many find repugnant. It’s her behavior: her direct attacks on fellow Aussie Casey Dellacqua and other LGBTQ tennis players, her political action, her church’s stance on ex-gay conversion therapy, and her repeated attempts to degrade queer people and their families in the public sphere. Of course she “has a right to an opinion,” as do all of us in free-ish societies. So let’s just get that out of the way. But I believe that speech has real consequences.

Billie Jean King released a statement last week asking that Margaret Court’s name be removed from the arena due to Court’s outspoken attitudes toward lgbtq people. Obviously, this is a hot topic amongst journalists ahead of this year’s Australian Open.

While I think it’s important not to avoid the topic altogether, I have a problem with how it’s being framed on social media and in the press. Players are being asked “would you play on Margaret Court Arena?” This assumes that: a) they have a choice; b) they understand the context of the question; and c) that this will elicit any worthwhile or thoughtful answers. I’m skeptical about all three.

Frith: I might be starting this on a somewhat radical note, but I think it’s important to acknowledge that Australia does not have a Bill of Rights that guarantees a right to free speech, though the high courts have found that freedom of expression is implied. So legally it’s a different kind of issue here, to what people might be used to in other places.

In terms of Billie Jean’s statement, while it definitely was the right thing for her to do, it won’t necessarily have much of a proactive impact on the naming. Aussies are awfully recalcitrant and don’t really take well to being told what to do in our own country, especially by an American. I’m sorry, but it’s true!

I agree with you that putting the onus on the players seems like an unworkable approach. I mean, let’s say they want to boycott Margaret Court Arena - how exactly does that even play out? On a purely practical level, if I am 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and I don’t want to play my match on Margaret Court Arena, what happens?

Jon: I don't know. I'm not even sure the players know how that scenario would play out, or if it's something they had even considered. It also seems like some of the top players asked about this in their pre-tournament press availabilities were caught a bit off guard by the question. But now that it's out there, we know you've done some digging to get to the bottom of what the actual process is for changing the name of the court.

Frith: I’m sorry if this is incredibly dry, but I’d like to go into a little bit about how the naming rights to Margaret Court Arena work, because I have been obsessing over this lately and I think it’s fascinating, or at least important.

Melbourne Park, the larger facility in which Margaret Court Arena (MCA) is homed -- which includes Rod Laver and all the rest of the courts -- is owned and operated by the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust (MOPT). This is a statutory authority run by a Board of Trustees who report to the State Minister for Events, Tourism and Sport. It’s covered by an act of Parliament (Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985) which combined the Olympic Park with the National Tennis Centre. I spent a couple of days reading the act, vision statements, and a bunch of reports so you don’t have to.

The Australian Open is unquestionably the largest event that takes place at Melbourne Park, but it’s not the only one. Netball and basketball teams all call Melbourne Park and, more specifically, Margaret Court Arena, home. It’s also used as a venue for bands and entertainment throughout the year - there was even an ice-hockey game there once. Tennis Australia are a co-tenant. They’re definitely in the penthouse, but they don’t own the building.

This is all super important to recognise, in my opinion, because if we just keep asking Craig Tiley to change it he can honestly keep playing the same straight bat he’s been playing this whole time: saying that there’s more to it than Tennis Australia, that it’s complex and multi-layered. I do think that he could do and say more, that if Tennis Australia brought their influence to bear it would make a huge difference. But when he says it’s out of his hands, he’s right.

I’ve written to the State Premier, Daniel Andrews, asking for his help because he’s been a long time outspoken ally to the LGBTQIA community. It’s not remotely in his purview, but I figured it couldn’t hurt going to the big fella. I’ve also written to the State Minister for Sport, John Eren MP, whose bio states that he is “passionate about sport and recreation and giving all Victorians equal opportunity to get involved, stay active and play the sport they love.” (I told you, I’ve read a lot of vision statements.) I’m fully expecting them to get back to me saying that it’s the decision of the board of trustees, and they respect the independence of the MOPT. Especially because it’s an election year in Victoria and I don’t think they’ll be keen on creating an issue that might distract from whatever their primary campaign messages are. Colour me cynical, but it’s the way it is.

So, the real target for any meaningful campaign will be the board themselves. I’m contacting the Director of Arenas, Steve Harper CFE, requesting information on the nature of the agreement to rename Show Court 1, Margaret Court Arena. If it’s an honorary arrangement, that’s definitely in our favour, but if there’s a bequest tied to naming rights in perpetuity, hoo boy we are in trouble! Everything gets more complicated when there’s money on the table. Is there a get outta jail free card, if the name negatively affects the commercial value of the building? There’s a lot that’s yet to become clear and I remain optimistic.

Basically, my point is that nothing is going to change this Australian Open. I don’t even think it’ll change this year. My aim would be AO20, though obviously AO19 would be amazing. It’s going to take a lot of convincing arguments, probably a tonne of meetings and a million emails. It’s boring, practical, grassroots activism that will get this over the line. A bunch of concerned letter writers asking the right people the right questions.

So while it’s good to know where players stand on LGBTQIA rights and messages of support are so important - read the tweet from my friend Mitch about Laura Robson if you need to understand why - Margaret Court Arena will be Margaret Court Arena for a while yet, whether or not Denis Shapovalov wants to play there or not. So stop yelling at the players please.

(Sorry Denis for picking your name out of the blue! Must’ve been a tough loss today and now some random Australian talking about trustees won’t keep your name out of her mouth. I’m happy for you though James.)

James: Wow, thanks Frith for bringing some much-needed context to this discussion.

I’m glad you mentioned the tweets from your friend Mitch (@mitchgrow). His experience, and Laura Robson’s demonstration in 2012, remind me that this is the type of action that can make change: small, organic, and personal. I’d add to that list Casey Dellacqua’s personal essay in response to Court’s public attack, along with loving and public support from Ash Barty and Rennae Stubbs. I think these have more potential to be powerful than player press conferences. They remind us that this isn’t just a politically correct campaign led by angry “liberals.” We are real people whose lives are made more difficult and indeed more dangerous by people who seek to dehumanize us.

That’s not to say that players can’t totally change the game, so to speak. If Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, for example, made an affirming statement to their legion of LGBTQ fans, that would be damn near earth-shattering in the world of tennis. But, if we expect to hear from them, we will definitely be disappointed. That said, it would be nice to see a single gesture toward acceptance from an ATP player not named Andy Murray or Roberto Bautista Agut. I’m just afraid that the context is totally lost on a lot of these players. The cultural gulf might be too much, they might feel they stand to risk too much by speaking out, or they simply don’t care (or the very real possibility that many actually agree with Court).

Jon: We heap all the expectation to effect change onto the players. They will have to deal with the negative headlines, while the people who have the actual clout to influence the name change -- as Frith researched and pointed out -- stay quiet or drag their feet. This is not to say we shouldn’t expect tennis players to be allies in one way or another, but to judge them based on whether they would “boycott Margaret Court Arena” is, frankly, a bit absurd. If a player chooses to do so, more power to him or her, but hopefully we can put the onus on the bureaucrats and the politicians instead. As Frith says, “stop yelling at the players, please!” As for the question being posed to players about boycotting MCA, perhaps it’s part of larger reporting, and I hope that whatever comes of this includes more context than what’s been leveled at the players so far.

Many thanks to Frith for joining us for this Diary entry. Your research and willingness to share it with us is very much appreciated.

Jon: Holy cow, what an opening day of the Australian Open! Only ONE of the 10 ‘merican women (Nicole Gibbs) who played in Melbourne yesterday survived the carnage. Among the defeated: Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe, CiCi Bellis, Taylor Townsend, and Alison Riske. Within the first four hours of play, Venus, Sloane, and CoCo -- three of the four semifinalists from the 2017 U.S. Open -- were out. The top two American men, John Isner and Jack Sock, also bowed out in the first round. I certainly can’t remember a day like this for American tennis at a Slam, can you?

James: There were probably a few French Opens back in the day that saw this much American blood spilt. But to your point, it was a shocking display from the U.S. contingent. I was actually most surprised by Vandeweghe’s performance; going in, I felt that she had momentum and a tricky, but not impossible, first round. I heard reports that she had the flu, though. What about you -- any true shockers for you, or was it just jarring that this all happened on the same day?

Jon: Not really. I think it’s not so much that these individual American players lost to these particular opponents, but that they all lost on the same day and in such a large volume. Bencic was always going to be a tough out for Venus; nobody has played and won more matches than her since Singapore. Sloane Stephens hasn’t won a match in a long time and she was playing Zhang, ranked #34 and the highest ranked first round opponent for a seeded player. I take your point about CoCo; she came in fresh off that ESPNW article aiming to debunk the perception of her being arrogant, and was viewed as a legit threat on these fast courts to build on her two Slam semis last year. Babos played top tennis, and if you’re not at your fighting best physically, then it becomes all the more difficult to perform at this level. While her loss may have been surprising, CoCo’s outbursts were not, just as they weren’t again from Ryan Harrison. These two continue to lower the bar for expectations of Americans overseas.

James: There’s just no excuse for hurling obscenities at your opponent or your opponent’s fans. I’ll never understand the bloc that believes that this abusive and embarrassing behavior is “good for the sport.” It is amazing to me that Ryan Harrison, especially, has any fans left. At least Colleen, for her part, put on her gentle, reasonable voice when conversing with the chair last night after getting a point penalty. The universe is serving Jack Sock a bit of restorative justice lately; after his less-than-full-effort performance in Auckland, there’s talk of rescinding his $100k appearance fee, and now he’s out in the first round in Melbourne after ending the 2017 season on a high.

Jon: Sock says it’s been very difficult to deal with the start of a new year after finishing on such a high at the end of 2017 (winning Paris to qualify for the year-end championships). Paraphrasing here, but it’s been a struggle for him to get motivated after having such a short turnaround between seasons, having never played that deep into a season before. All that makes perfect sense, but it’s not a good look when your performance is so bad that people are calling it tanking, and not for the first time in your career. Being in the top 10 also means added scrutiny, and having to answer for behaviour that would have flown under the radar when he was a less accomplished singles player.

As for Harrison, it’s not just about the swearing on court, which some have suggested dismissively. It’s about, as you pointed out, swearing at your opponent (in the case of Hanfmann), and your opponent’s supporters. It’s certainly not behaviour that would be tolerated or excused if done by someone like Nick Kyrgios; there is absolutely a double standard there, one that I believe has to do with race. Context is very important when debunking the “oh, who hasn’t cursed before” argument. This is an American player, casually and aggressively saying "fuck THOSE people" directed at an obviously majority Jewish group of people, on foreign soil. It reinforces some really ugly stereotypes about Americans, ESPECIALLY in this day and age.

James: Yet totally in keeping with the tenor of our national conversation. Can we talk about something more fun? Sloane Stephens’ press conference, for example. When Sloane feels like participating, she is such a hilarious presence in press. Take this, haters: “Relax, everybody. It will be okay. Don't worry. We will get back to having fun soon.” I’m not too worried about Sloane, because she took this attitude last summer right before she went on a tear through the American hard courts. Just as she did then, she ensured the assembled press, “I’m going to beat someone eventually. I’ll have the best Instagram picture when I snap this losing streak.”

Obviously, Sloane was not in fighting shape to start this tournament. It’s really only her second tournament back after her knee injury, which she played on for much of the fall. Nike’s atrocious kit certainly didn’t help her mystique.

Jon: Sloane’s mystique? We need to do a segment to delve into what you mean by that at another time. To expect Sloane Stephens to have continued that otherworldly form in New York through the rest of her career was just never on the table. She will never be Serena, nor Venus; she is Sloane, and that’s (BIG SHOCK) totally OK. I’m glad to hear she is comfortable enough in her skin to push back against the press for trying to pigeon hole her into that lane. She will come back and win again, and continue to do HER in the meantime.

One of the most anticipated storylines of day one was Rafa’s return to sleeveless tops, a full decade after he last wore one on the ATP Tour. I am saddened to report that it was a big big miss.

James: Perhaps “mystique” is not the word I was going for! As for Rafa’s kit, Nike is trash. They gave us a full line of unimaginative, bland, and just plain ugly kits for their top players this year. Fumbling Rafa’s return to the sleeveless look is something I cannot forgive. But, I was glad to see that Rafa got through his match without drama.

Sadly, I was asleep during Rafa’s match, as it started at 3 am here. I just went to check the stats on ausopen.com, and wouldn’t you know, they don’t work! It’s actually impressive how the tournament has fumbled just about every aspect of their digital technology: the app and website went down simultaneously in the first minutes of play, and even when they are purportedly working, they are full of bugs. As a layperson when it comes to technology, all I can do is laugh. I don’t understand the need to completely rework the app each year; I don’t recall having any problems before. Between the tech problems, the “draw ceremony,” and having to reckon with the ever-irritating Margaret Court, there’s a dark cloud over the Happy Slam which hopefully moves away soon.

Jon: If I know you, those last few sentences read like you’re about ready to put a wrap on this Diary entry! Let me just say about Rafa’s kit...the pink is the LEAST of the trouble with it. For whatever reason, the arm holes of the shirt are enormous and have Rafa’s still-very-ample musculature swimming, and the grey colour of the shirt just makes it look dirty. It looks like one of those patterns that designers first cut to put on a mannequin. It looks entirely unfinished and unwashed. A bright white shirt or even charcoal (although not hot weather friendly) would have done much better.

James: Why not an homage to Rafa’s signature pre-2009 look? What a shambles. Anyway, you’re correct that I was wrapping up; we have to save something for the podcast! To look out for: who will take advantage of holes in the draw left by Venus, Sloane, and CoCo? CoCo’s section now looks like a cakewalk for Wozniacki to reach the semifinals. I’ll also be especially interested to see Novak and Stan tonight. ‘Til next time!

This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 24

#ThisWeekInTennisrecaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts. ​

Photo: Greg Baker/AFP

RUNDOWN

Caroline Garcia is the first woman to complete the Wuhan-Beijing double. In the process, Garcia cracks the top 10 for the first time in her career, is now the top-ranked Frenchwoman, and takes the lead in the race for the final available spot in Singapore.

Simona Halep becomes the fifth player to hold the WTA #1 ranking in 2017 and 25th overall since the advent of the rankings system. Halep supplants Muguruza, and joins Serena Williams, Pliskova, and Kerber as the other women to hold the top ranking this year.

Rafael Nadal, in his first start since winning the U.S. Open, claimed the 75th ATP title of his career when he beat Nick Kyrgios in the Beijing final. After beginning the season 0-3 in finals, Nadal has won six straight.

David Goffin won the Japan Open to complete back-to-back title runs after winning in Shenzhen the week prior. Goffin returns to the ATP top 10 for a third stint; his two prior stays lasted a total of five weeks combined.

JR: So, Jonathan, one would think that with the US Open over, the tennis news cycle would slow down a bit. But with Miss Olympia’s newly verified Instagram account, Maria’s book, and Laver Cup, it’s hard to keep up.

JN: Alexis Olympia Ebony Starr Ohanian-Williams is her name as far as I’m concerned. I knew we were going to be writing about Sharapova today (again), but you caught me a bit off guard when you said you wanted to chat about the Laver Cup. We haven’t talked about that one bit privately, so I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it. Shall we start this Diary there?

JR: Sure. I can’t decide if Laver Cup is a cynical cash grab, an exhibition in posh clothing, or a fun experiment with format. It might be all three. I’m always skeptical of additions to the calendar -- especially ones with huge appearance fees -- when scheduling is such a contentious issue in tennis, and when the US Open men’s draw was plagued by big-name withdrawals.

JN: I take and understand all those points, but I actually think it’s one of the better additions we’ve seen to the tennis calendar. I imagine the intent of it is in line with the Ryder Cup -- and more specifically the Presidents Cup -- events in golf, two tournaments that add a lot of texture and fun to the golf calendar without relying on gimmicks to bring fans in (*cough cough - Next Gen Finals*). We get to see Nadal and Federer play on the same team, which is a win-win for the sport.

JR: I hear you … the Ryder Cup is hugely successful in golf (and it's been played in my hometown of Rochester, NY!). Laver Cup is in a good spot in the calendar, when many top players would be resting and while other players are competing in 250s. I hear Fedal will be playing doubles together, as well, which obviously has appeal. The lack of stakes, though, is a hindrance to me: it’s a bunch of very rich men playing low-risk low-reward tennis, for what exactly? I will concede that the entertainment value could be huge. The barrier right now is the hilariously lopsided match-up of “Team Europe” versus “Team World,” the latter of which pulls from only the U.S., Canada, and Australia; and whose players have shockingly poor head-to-heads against Team Europe.

JN: Well, del Potro was supposed to play (which would have made it four) but he hasn’t yet recovered from his U.S. Open semifinal run. For a tournament like this to take off, it needs to have the legends of the game fully invested and the big names playing; the Laver Cup meets this criteria and then some: Team Europe will be headed by Bjorn Borg and Team World captained by John McEnroe. Then, we have the man himself Rod Laver doing all the promo he can manage to sell the event, and we have Fedal making time for it as well. In Borg-McEnroe and Federer-Nadal, these are two all-time great rivalries that will bring visibility and prestige to the event. Only time will tell if it will last.

JR: I like that they have foregrounded tennis history with the choice of captains and centering Rod Laver. It’s also being held in Czech Republic, one of the most storied nations in tennis and one that doesn't have a big tournament of its own. Shall we move on to Maria?

JN: Yes. But, one last point about Laver Cup. With the Ryder and Presidents Cups, the strength of the competing teams goes in cycles based on how well folks are playing in the two years leading up to the event. The big difference is that, while there is a qualification points system in golf, it feels a bit arbitrary with the Laver Cup. How were these players selected? Were they chosen because others weren’t willing to make themselves available? This is something to look for in future years; will it become a firm & desirable event in the calendar?

Every time we say we’re done talking about Maria, something else happens to make liars out of us, lol. Maria has been making the press rounds to promote her new book, and one of the more surprising spots she did was on Sway’s Universe, sitting down with black presenters and a presumably black audience, fielding questions about race and Serena. Where do you want to start?

In a post-U.S. Open haze? Follow our journey from the draws to the finale. In our preview episode, learn what we got right (Murray's withdrawal didn't doom the tournament) and what we didn't quite anticipate (Muguruza's loss in the 4th round, Sloane Stephens' gripping performance). In our mid-tournament episode, we speak with repeat guest Rene Denfeld, German-based Tennis Twitter phenomenon and journalist. In our wrap-up episode, we praise Rafa and Sloane, drag Maria, and tie up some loose ends.

The last major of the year is here, and lots of top players are not *sob*. We're completely foregoing draw analysis this time around, instead asking broader questions and talking about players who we hope make a splash. Is it fair to call the women's tournament "wide open?" Did Andy owe it to anyone to pull out earlier? Will James ever learn not to pick Tsonga?

:30 Back in Toronto! We saw Mariah & Lionel!8:20 Where are the mens? Andy adds himself to the disabled list14:00 What's with the pressitude about Andy's timing?18:00 Halep & Shapovalov ... err, Sharapova will meet in the first round22:00 Troubling the "wide open" draws discussion24:30 Looking at the big performers at non-Slam events (Svitolina & Zverev) and how they will perform at the Open31:00 You can lead James to water but you can't make him drink (there must be a thirst joke in here somewhere)32:45 The players with momentum: Dimitrov, Kyrgios, Muguruza38:45 Who do we hope to see break through?49:50 Things we dislike: the USTA loves to talk about itself; and how will the flag-waving be received this year?52:45 Things we like: that Nike shoot with les Canadiens!

Despite the missing stars, the 2017 US Open has offered no scarcity of big stories: Sharapova's return, Peak Petra defeating Muguruza, Venus' continued good form at majors, and the excitement around Denis Shapovalov. We're so excited to welcome back the insightful Rene Denfeld to the show. The Tennis Twitter-lebrity is covering the US Open for the first time as a journalist, and he shares his thoughts on Sharapova, Fognini, the draws, and what it's like to be there.
​:35 What a day: James just got Twitter famous, Venus won, and Maria lost8:00 The great women's round of 16s11:00 Unpacking Sharapova - the scheduling, the "shade," the reception; or as James calls it, "a feeling of grossness"21:45 Roger and Rafa's rocky starts to the tournament26:15 The wild men's bottom half - Querrey, Anderson, PCB or Schwartzman in a major final29:00 The Shapovalov hype!33:00 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas Fabio does Fabio. There's a reason that fogna means sewer38:00 The problem with "I'm only here for the handshake"42:10 The wonderful Rene Denfeld is back on the pod, straight from Queens50:40 Talking with Rene about the weird men's draw, Shapo, Rafa's slow starts1:00:30 What's it like to be on camera as a reporter? (Rene gets gif-ed)1:03:50 Did you know? Rene was responsible for Naomi Osaka's excellent 'mesothelioma' monologue
​1:08:30 Rene's favorite moments so far

Welcome to episode 96 and our U.S. Open recap. By now you know that Sloane Stephens and Rafael Nadal are your singles champions. It still doesn't seem real, but we try to get to the bottom of a truly inspired performance by Sloane in New York. Nadal put aside a shaky start to the tournament to find some of his best tennis, finishing with a sublime exhibition against Kevin Anderson in the final for his 16th Slam title. We revisit some of the more memorable moments and performances from the tournament, and induct our second ever member of The Body Serve Hall of Fame. We finish with another trip to the Maria well, this time to call out the racist BS from the Serena chapter of her book.01:18 Jonathan apologizes to Venus fans and to Sloane03:20 How exactly did Sloane do ALL THAT?!?!11:21 Sloane evolves before our eyes, pitch perfect on and off the court16:52 Venus and Petra are THE TRUTH; they deliver the goods again!22:50 El Decimosexto de Rafa: proving the doubters wrong yet again29:06 All the credit in the world to Kevin Anderson34:33 Relitigating the start of 2013 and "I Made You"44:36 Doubles Standards: time to up the ante49:43 TBS Hall of Fame: Arigato, Kimiko54:10 Parsing through the post-Open rankings60:58 Alicia "Tornado" Black: GO FUND HER!!!63:08 Sashay away, Tom Rinaldi!66:54 Maria is truly unstoppable...with the MESS! We have had it.

JN: We are two days out from Nadal’s 16th Slam title and three from Sloane’s unexpected run to a maiden title, let’s have a chat about some of the moments from this year’s U.S. Open that remain fresh in our memories. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

JR: The rich and entertaining women’s draw, without hesitation. Between the comeback stories (Petra, Sloane, Madison, Kanepi, and others) and the many high quality matches, this was a banner event in women’s tennis. It’s a damn shame that the final was so lopsided. Madison played a near classic against Svitolina, with both women showing exactly why they’re shooting toward the top of the game.

JN: I’ll start with Sloane. Back-to-back semis leading into the Open was still NOT an indicator that this was in the cards. Just a month ago, she was sitting in press at the Citi Open saying that she’s going to win one of these matches eventually...ONE of these matches...she hadn’t won a match in over a year, let alone winning the whole damn U.S. Open. Would she be fit enough or match ready enough to win seven matches? Just crazy. And even more impressive is the way she went about doing it; I’ve never seen anybody look like they had as much time on court as she did. I will never in my life forget those last three games against Venus in the semis, and how poised she was during and after that final.

JR: Let’s be real: Sloane was being a little dramatic when she mused that she’d eventually win a match. She had been back from a huge surgery for, what, two tournaments? But there was nothing dramatic about how she went about winning this U.S. Open. She had patience, poise, court smarts, sporadic power, just everything. I was absolutely stunned at how she played in the final. Watching her win did kind of take the sting out of the previous match against Venus; I was heartbroken for Venus, but no one can say that Sloane didn’t earn this title.​JN: Nope. Venus came at her in that semifinal (not always with her best stuff), but Sloane had the improbable answers time and again at the end of that third set. We watched her evolve in real time the last fortnight. Spare a thought for Madison Keys. Prior to to the final, she was the more accomplished player; she was probably the favourite to win the title against Sloane. Yet, she could barely find any rhythm, this after playing the match of her life in the semis to blitz CoCo. Shall we talk about El Decimosexto?

JR: Wow, is that how you say it? Rafa wasn’t looking too hot over the summer or indeed in his first 3 rounds here. I did not have high hopes. But starting against Dolgopolov, his confidence and his game started clicking, and it was relatively uneventful from then on. It’s remarkable that we’ve arrived here, with Rafa winning a fourth hardcourt major. Last year, he was dealing with injuries and searching high and low for that forehand. Now, even when the forehand isn’t working how he wants it to, he has the backhand crosscourt, volleying, court sense, and speed to fall back on.

JN: All those things are true. The thing that impressed me most with Rafa this time around was how poised he was in the final, especially in the first few games. He had a game plan, especially on return, and stuck with it even when he didn’t get the breaks of serve right away. He didn’t allow himself to show frustration; he didn’t change course and play overly aggressively. Rafa stayed the course and played an impeccable match on serve, picked his spots to be aggressive, and thwarted everything Kevin Anderson threw his way. When Rafa is at the peak of his powers, his game is less kill shot, than it is sucker punches until you have nothing left to give. Now, he has an almost 2,000 point lead at world #1, and he still has a few more events to cap a truly remarkable season.

This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 23

#ThisWeekInTennisrecaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts. This edition takes a look back at week two of the 2017 U.S. Open.

Photo credit: Andres Kudacki/AP

RUNDOWN​

Rafael Nadal won his 16th career Slam title, and third at the U.S. Open, when he defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-3 6-4 in the final. Already a finalist in Australia and champion in Paris, Nadal extends his points lead as world number one to 1,960 over Federer.

Sloane Stephens continued her improbable run of form all the way to the U.S. Open title. Sidelined by injury for a year, Stephens entered the U.S. Open coming off back-to-back semifinal showings in Toronto and Cincinnati, before scoring the biggest win of her career in New York. Her path to the title: Vinci, Cibulkova, Barty, Goerges, Sevastova, Venus Williams, and Madison Keys.

​Kevin Anderson made full use of a depleted bottom half of the men's draw to achieve his career-best Slam result. A finalist in Washington D.C. earlier this summer, Anderson continued his good form in New York, besting Sam Querrey and Carreno Bust in the preceding rounds before losing to Nadal.

Madison Keys joined Sloane Stephens in an all-American final, but was unable to repeat her sublime form she showed in beating CoCo Vandeweghe in the semifinals. The 6-3 6-0 scoreline didn't do justice to the body of work Keys put forth in the past fortnight, including comeback wins over Svitolina and Vesnina.

Venus Williams, runner-up at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, was two points away from another finals appearance in New York. Unfortunately for the elder Williams, Sloane Stephens conjured her best tennis to thwart her advances in those crucial moments to deny her a third Slam final in 2017.

Juan Martin del Potro came back from a two-sets-to-love deficit against Thiem in the fourth round to beat Federer in the quarterfinals, but was unable to push Nadal past four sets in the semifinals. The 2009 U.S. Open champion showed yet again that, even if his ranking might not suggest it, he is as formidable as they come on the ATP Tour.

Roger Federer, hindered by a balky back throughout the tournament, went out to del Potro in the quarterfinals. Federer's loss ensured that tennis fans were left waiting for a first ever Federer-Nadal meeting at the U.S. Open yet again.

Martina Hingis partnered with Latisha Chan and Jamie Murray to win both Women's and Mixed Doubles at the U.S. Open. For Hingis, it was her 25th combined Grand Slam title: 5 in singles, 13 in doubles, and 7 in mixed. Meanwhile, the men's duo of Rojer and Tecau won their second doubles Slam title together.

JR: That Shania concert was … something. This US Open night session is on schedule like a Lauryn Hill concert.

JN: I don't want to go in too hard on Shania; I own Shania records (something you've long given me grief about), but that was so bizarre and not good. Oooh, here’s Maria with Rinaldi in the tunnel.

JR: I see you were working on that Canadian citizenship years before you even moved to Canada. Chrissie just did a mini-monologue about how hard Maria has had it. Chrissie has HAD IT! It is so strange to see Maria back on a tennis court.

JN: Simona is all primary colours in Pharrell’s Adidas line, and Maria is in all black with some sparkles. These two are so different in style of play and their outfits are showing that contrast tonight too. Maria Sharapova to serve. Quiet please, thank you. Ready. Play.

JR: Maria has clearly got a game plan …. Well, to be fair, it is the only Sharapova game plan there has ever been. Hit hard, control the middle of the court. All offense all the time. She holds serve to open the match.

JN: Can we talk about this nonsense that Halep is mostlyjust a counterpuncher? She’s got plenty/enough power to trouble anybody. It’s a matter of having the moxy on court to execute it.

JR: I don’t know if I’d say she has enough power to “trouble” anybody, but she can hang with basically anybody. She gets a lot of torque out of her body. Speaking of moxy, Simona brought up the first break point of the match at 1-1. Maria will not stop hitting out, so Simona has to seize on Maria’s errors.

JN: Maria rips a crosscourt forehand winner on the run to save it and eventually hold for 2-1. This has been verrrrry entertaining so far. Mayweather v McGregor, eat your heart out. The crowd is loving it.

JR: Unrelatedly, this stadium must be super loud because I can’t hear the SI-MO-NA crowd at all. I was expecting Maria to tell them to Haide up their …. Anyway, Simona is being pretty aggressive on the serve, by her standards; she’s trying to mix up the placement of her first serve, especially. Of course, just as I type that, she drops a 74 mph second serve right into Maria’s forehand strike zone. Absolutely stunning retrieving from Simona at 1-2, Ad Sharapova.

JN: Yeah, Simona’s second serve is everything Maria could hope for and more. Maria thwacks another 70+ mph sitter to break for 3-1. Just when I’m starting to count the number of games won:lost ratio for Simona in her last two matches, she summons some of her best stuff to snatch the break right back. Admit it, you are entertained.

JR: Indeed. But it hasn’t stopped the Chris twins from talking all the way through points. Just like that, though, Simona is down 0-40 on her serve. And there’s the third straight break of serve.

JN: Make that FOUR in a row. Sharapova seems to be battling her serve a bit more; we’ve now seen a couple of those double fault shockers that we used to see PM. And no, I'm not talking about Patrick Mouratoglou.

JR: After all those breaks, Halep held serve after a storm of Sharapova errors. Maria has had real chances to shut down this set, but she is alternately imperious and sloppy. There is no in between with her.

JN: Maria eventually breaks to take the first set 6-4. The stats don't show much difference between the two at this point, even in the second serves that I've maligned Simona for. Ultimately, Maria is just a bit more tenacious and her much talked about intangibles have carried her to the first set finish line.

This Week In Tennis
​Season 2, Vol 22b

Welcome to the ATP U.S. Open preview edition of "This Week in Tennis." ​Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal headline a depleted field at the last Slam of 2017: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Milos Raonic are all missing from this year's field due to injury. World #1, Nadal, will seek his first hard court title in three years, and attempt to stave off a Federer charge for his top ranking over the next fortnight. Both men, the top ATP performers on the season, are on course for a semifinal meeting and a first ever match between the two at the U.S. Open.

​This preview will give a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, intriguing first round matches, plus a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week.

Nadal's resurgent 2017 has seen him reach the Australian Open final, win Roland Garros, and regain the world #1 ranking. For all the positives and success that Nadal has achieved this year, he enters the U.S. Open after back-to-back unimpressive losses in Montreal and Cincinnati. After a shock defeat to Shapovalov in Canada, Nadal was unable to trouble Kyrgios in a straight-sets loss at the Western & Southern Open. With Federer hot on his heels for the top ranking, Nadal will look to score his first quarterfinal in New York since winning the title in 2013.

Best Result: W - 2010, 20132016 Result: 4R - Pouille

(2) Andy Murray

Slated to be the second seed in New York, Murray withdrew from the event on Saturday after being unable to sufficiently rehab his ongoing hip injury Marin Cilic slides into Murray's place in the draw and will face Tennys Sandgren on Monday. The Brit hopes to return to the court as soon as possible, and does not plan (at this point) to take the rest of the season off.

Best Result: W - 20122016 Result: QF - Nishikori

(3) Roger Federer

Despite concerns about a back injury he sustained in the Montreal final, Federer remains the bookmaker's favourite in New York. He won his 18th and 19th Slam titles earlier this year in Australia and at Wimbledon, to go along with back-to-back Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami; simply put, Federer has had an awesome 2017 campaign. If he is healthy, and especially with a depleted field in New York, his status as front runner is well earned. A first ever meeting with Nadal in New York looms in the semifinals, as well as the prospect of regaining the #1 ranking for the first time since November, 2012.

​Best Result: W - 2004-20082016 Result: DNP
​
(4) Alex Zverev

The ATP has been in search of it's "generation next" for years and, in Zverev, the tour seems to have found its heir to the "Big Four." At only 20-years-old, Zverev has already won six ATP titles, including two Masters 1000 titles this year in Rome and Montreal. Still, Zverev is in search of a breakthrough at a Grand Slam event, having never advances past the fourth round at any of his nine previous main draw appearances. He followed his Rome win on clay with a first round exit at the French Open. All eyes will be on him this time around to see if he can announce, in full, his arrival on one of tennis' biggest stages.
​Best Result: 2R - 20162016 Result: 2R - Evans

This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 22a

Welcome to the WTA U.S. Open preview edition of "This Week in Tennis." ​The world #1 ranking is again up for grabs this fortnight in New York: Karolina Pliskova is in current possession of the top spot, but as many as eight other women are mathematically in with a shot at supplanting her by tournament's end. Defending champion, Angelique Kerber, arrives in Flushing Meadows everything but the favourite; Wimbledon champion, Muguruza, is the odds-maker's top pick to win and score back-to-back Slam titles.

​This preview will give a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, intriguing first round matches, plus a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week.

Pliskova arrives at the U.S. Open as the top seed for the first time in her career, looking to build on a career-best Slam performance last year in New York when she finished runner-up to Angelique Kerber. She'll face the typical questions asked of someone in her position: can she handle the added pressure of being #1? Is she ready to take the next step in her career and hoist a maiden Slam trophy? Can she hold off a slew of challengers for her top ranking?

(2) Simona Halep

Best Result: SF - 20152016 Result: QF - S. Williams

More than any other player in both draws, Simona Halep has a lot of obstacles to overcome during the next fortnight. While she has the momentum of reaching the semifinals in Toronto and the finals in Cincinnati, both tournaments ended with lopsided and lackluster losses. She also carries the baggage of failing to win her first Slam title at the French Open this year, after being a set and a break up in the final against Ostapenko. Halep could also find herself with the top ranking on her racquet for a fourth time this year with a deep run in New York. First up, though, she has the not-so-small misfortune of drawing Sharapova in the first round.

(3) Garbiñe Muguruza

Best Result: 2R - 2015, 20162016 Result: 2R - Sevastova

Despite a 2-4 career record in New York, and having never gone past the second round, Muguruza enters this year's tournament as the big favourite. After an indifferent first half of the season, Muguruza has come on strong since winning Wimbledon and parlaying that success into a consistent hard court swing ahead of the U.S. Open. The Spaniard made the semis in Stanford, quarterfinals in Toronto, and capped her run with a Cincinnati title that saw her beat the top two seeds (Pliskova and Halep) as well as Kuznetsova and Keys.

(4) Elina Svitolina

​Best Result: 3R - 2015, 20162016 Result: 3R - Kvitova

Svitolina is the most accomplished 22-year-old on the WTA Tour. For someone so young, she's already won often and at some of the bigger tournaments just below the Grand Slam level. She has shown the ability to compete and beat the best players in the game; three of her WTA-leading five titles in 2017 have been at Premier events (Dubai, Rome, and Toronto). That she has made only two career Slam quarterfinals is likely a function of still being so young: the talent is there, and her quality of results suggests it is only a matter of time before she has a big Slam breakthrough. The hard courts of Flushing Meadows seem as good a place as any.

JN: In our last diary, we wrote a lot about Simona Halep and that disastrous Cincinnati final: another missed opportunity at becoming world #1, another let down in a big match, and how apologetic she was afterwards. Here we are, five days on, and she’s drawn Maria Sharapova in the first round of the U.S. Open. If you’re Simona, what are you thinking right now?

JR: I am, as they say, shooketh. I can’t pretend to ever know what Simona Halep is thinking, so I have no idea. Does she see it as an opportunity to show her stature in the game? Does she see it as terrible luck? Maybe both. I say she has a very good chance to win this match, and gain confidence from taking out Sharapova for the first time ever. Simona is in match shape and playing some of her best tennis ever, just not in finals. Maria, of course, has the x-factor and the fact that she has a lot to prove.

JN: The whole “popcorn match” thing is woefully overdone at this point, but this one fits the bill. I can only hope the organizers have the good sense to feature this at night under the Ashe lights, and not opt for some nonsense like “Sandgren making his main draw debut.” We still don’t know how healthy Sharapova is. She withdrew from Cincinnati (where she was slated to play a first round blockbuster too against Ostapenko) to be ready for this moment, so we shall see. I’m with you, this is a match Halep should win; she’s played enough quality tennis this summer to be able to pull it off without much fuss. Can we talk about Sasha Zverev, his overrated hair, and his overly friendly draw?

JR: That’s very much a child’s haircut, and he needs to usher it into 2017. The draw is cushy: he could have Isner, Sock, Khachanov, Cilic, or his own brother in the quarters. Murray is the other big seed in his half, and his health is questionable. I have to remind myself not to pick someone until they put in a great performance at a major. In a Masters or a 500 tournament, I would take Zverev over any of those players, but he needs to prove it in a major. I think this draw has given my perennial pick Jo Tsonga a good chance to go far; it’s the best chance he’s had in years.

JN: You really are a sucker for punishment, bless you. Tsonga, of course, is coming off a first round loss in Cincinnati to Karlovic, and a first round loss in Montreal to Querrey before that. It seems like forever ago, but he does have three titles thus far in 2017, and made the quarters in Australia. OK, maybe it’s not so far-fetched as I initially thought. Back to Zverev, he wants it so badly, and has the game and big stage moxy to back up that desire. I would be equally unsurprised if he wins or crashes out early like he did in the French Open first round. How many times do hard draws end up opening up, and easy draws become minefields? Seems like all the damn time.

JR: That’s the thing: often the exciting first-round match-ups are duds, or the projected tough matches never materialize later in the draw. Both men’s and women’s tennis is very deep. With the Big Four/Five’s dominance slipping a little, it’s easier to see the unexpected happening. That said, do you have any dark horses? I have Feliciano, Delpo, Kohlschreiber, and Donaldson for the men.

JN: You know what? I’m going with Kevin Anderson to maybe come through Zverev’s section if the German falters, old man Ferrer, and Kokkinakis. Isn’t it crazy how last year’s champions are pretty much all but forgotten? I doubt anybody would have picked Kerber to defend her title, and that was compounded by drawing Osaka in a brutal first round match. Stan, of course, is giving us updates from his hospital bed, and will be out for the rest of the year. This feels like the wide open Slam to cap a season of wide open Slams; anybody who tells you they know what’s going to happen is LYING! Even the two big favourites on the men’s side -- Federer and Nadal -- start the event with big, big questions surrounding their readiness to get the job done.

The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
​Episode 93

Ash Barty in action against Venus Williams at the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (Photo credit: Jonathan Newman)

​​This is our final episode on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. We're recording in the car again, chatting about the semis and finals, answering more listener questions, and talking through some issues around race, journalism, and access. The center of the episode, though, is our interview with Australian singles and doubles player Ash Barty, who took out Venus Williams in Cincinnati.
​

00:30 Hello from the car, again03:30 White Castle *is* as bad as everyone said06:30 Women's semis and finals in Cincinnati16:30 Kyrgios def. Ferrer - an entertaining match21:00 Men's final: Dimitrov's moment24:00 Our interview with 4-time Grand Slam doubles finalist Ash Barty!38:15 More listener mailbag: why was Sloane on court 4? How did we get into tennis?46:30 Which players were our favorite interviews/press conferences? Some brief audio clip from our favs58:30 More questions1:08:00 Some thoughts about access, journalism, and getting good content

Entry #4

JR: Jonathan, this week is officially over, and it’s flown by. Today, we got two finals that should have been much better on paper than they actually were. Thoughts?

JN: Definitely. The men’s final was fine: Grigor won 6-3 7-5. It had its moments, and Grigor gets his big breakthrough at long last. In other news, the women’s final was an absolute shocker. Muguruza blasts away Halep 6-1 6-0, leaving Halep apologizing to the fans for the second time in a week.

JR: I was kind of hoping that Nick would get the title, if only because he had a tougher road to the final. He took out Nadal easily and put in a great performance against the surging David Ferrer. Dimitrov, though, was clearly the fitter player. He was quick, relentless, accurate - everything was working well for him today. Nick wasn’t terrible but it looked like the week wore on his fitness a bit.

JN: You’re just going to ignore the women’s final then and pretend it didn’t happen?

JR: Ha! I can only handle one topic at a time. I’m sure Simona Halep and all of Romania would prefer to forget it. Halep didn't give Muguruza anything surprising; she tried to rally from the baseline and win with her quickness. Surely, Muguruza was excellent in every facet today, but Simona could have mixed paces, ventured to the net … basically, try something or anything to frustrate Muguruza.

JN: Simona even said in her presser that she was unable to execute the advice Cahill gave her today, presumably some of the things that you just delineated. As for why she was unable to do it? Your guess is as good as mine. She did not dismiss out of hand the possibility that it had something to do with going for number one again. Man, it was just such a big letdown up in the press room and absolutely for the fans. Every credit to Muguruza, though. She built from match-to-match and did everything well in the final.

JR: Let me just say, when I saw Muguruza deal with Madison Keys late in the third set, I *knew* she was going to win this title. I just had a feeling. Her play since Roland Garros (save for that crappy match against Strycova) has been scary. As in, a great player entering a peak phase kind of scary. She didn't agree that her mentality has changed since the French, but it sure looks like that from my perspective.

JN: Let’s get through the U.S. Open before we make any of those proclamations. She did say that it was a goal of hers to play well this hard court swing, one that she has historically not done very well at, and she has done it: semis in Stanford, quarters in Toronto, and winning here in Cincinnati. So, maybe this is, as you say, a bit of a peak phase she’s entering. She certainly has the game for it, but I’d wait to see how she fares in New York first. Let me say though that you are the Muguruza oracle at this point, having predicted her Wimbledon win and now this first title on American soil.

JR: OK! I will now predict that Serena will beat her all over 2018! Back to Cincy, it’s a shame that the women’s semis and final flopped so hard, because overall the women’s tournament was very good: obviously Svetlana-Muguruza, Kerber-Makarova, CoCo-Madison, Sloane-Makarova, Sloane-everyone, etc. Plus, we saw 6 of the 8 top seeds in the quarters.

Simona Halep finds herself, once more, one match away from becoming the top ranked women's tennis player in the world. If she beats Garbiñe Muguruza tomorrow in the Cincinnati final, Halep will be the 24thwoman to hold the top ranking. She would have been the 23rd woman to climb the WTA summit, but that honour went to Karolina Pliskova, after Halep squandered two prior chances earlier this year.

The first, the French Open final against Jelena Ostapenko, is one that Halep jokes still gives her nightmares. In her All Access Hour this week in Cincinnati, Halep quipped, "I was very close, winning the Grand Slam and being number one in the same day, I still have bad dreams about that (laughs), I still suffer." Tomorrow, Halep gets another chance to exorcise those demons.

Today, Halep faced a resurgent Sloane Stephens in the Cincinnati semifinals. Stephens, off the tour for more than a year after having foot surgery, made the semifinals in Toronto last week and continued that rich run of form this week. Stephens, however, was not at her physical best after playing two matches yesterday due to the rain-affected schedule on Thursday night.

"I mean, three matches in 24 hours is never easy, so gonna go with that," said Stephens. "I actually didn't think I played that badly. I think she's just a little bit fresher and just wasn't a great day."

Halep, for her part, looked every bit as fresh as Stephens described in her press conference. From the onset, the Romanian moved with purpose and was the clear aggressor of the two, dictating points throughout. After surviving a nervy finish to her quarterfinal win over Johanna Konta, where she lost five match points, Halep was in complete control a day later. If the top ranking were on her mind, she did not show it.

Prior to today's match Halep knew she needed to win the title to become No. 1, but she wasn't aware of just how close the battle was until before her semifinal: "Before the match I talked to my brother by SMS, that, 'Is it true that I am five points away if I win the match?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'It's unbelievable. Five points, can you believe it?'"

Halep says she is more relaxed now than she was the two previous times she played for the top ranking. When asked what is different this time, Halep said "I'm more relaxed now. So I'm not thinking about that (No.1). I know that if I keep this level, is gonna come. If not tomorrow, maybe next weeks. But I'm much better now. Hopefully I can play better."

This time she will play the current Wimbledon champion, Garbiñe Muguruza. After battling through a pair of three-set matches against Madison Keys and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Muguruza made easy work of the current world No. 1, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2. Halep and Muguruza have played three previous times, and the Spaniard leads their head-to-head 2-1.

Halep acknowledges that winning a first Grand Slam title remains her primary goal, but also appreciates the unique opportunity she gets tomorrow: "I think it's something special to get No. 1 in the world. Only 23 players got that." Halep also knows that a handful of players are in the same position as her and is eager to grab her chance tomorrow, "everyone can get to No. 1 now. The ranking is close. So depends of anyone. But I am so close. I really want that. So we will see."

Entry #3

​JR: Hi Jonathan - we just witnessed two clunkers in the women’s semifinals, but a tight match between John Isner and Grigor Dimitrov. Let’s talk about scheduling, though, because I don’t want to slag the losing semifinalists for things that were out of their control.

JN: Just yesterday we were marveling at how well Stephens and Pliskova did in winning two matches on the same day. However, today was when the chickens came home to roost. Both women looked lethargic, especially Sloane, who even told her coach during the match that she had no legs today. What would you have done differently with scheduling?

JR: It’s hard to say, because we’re not fully aware of the TV obligations that restrict scheduling options. Ideally, you show more respect to the world no. 1 and get her on Center Court. There is no reason that she should play with barely two hours rest in between matches. Muguruza and Halep would have always had an advantage, just because they were lucky enough to get matches in before the rain Thursday. But it should have been handed better. Another option was to start earlier; they stuck to the 11 am start yesterday, and didn’t even start play on the outer courts until 1! Wimbledonian stubbornness, in my opinion.

JN: The 1pm start for Grandstand was the real head scratcher for me yesterday. Fine, Muguruza-Sveta is the marquee women’s match, so put that on Center. But surely you start Sloane or especially Karolina at the same time on Grandstand. Such a shame that both matches were affected by the obvious fatigue of both women, the matchups and the fans deserved better.

JR: No disrespect to Simona and Garbine, the two victors. Each came with a gameplan and executed beautifully. Simona was her athletic best, whacked her backhand with authority, and covered the court like she always does. Garbine has improved with each match here. She was stunning against an inspired Kuznetsova. Today, she served well, and put constant pressure on Pliskova’s service games. Pliskova won only 25% of her own second serve points.

JN: Seriously, both women came to play today. I was especially impressed by Halep, she was relentless from the start and Sloane didn't stand a chance. Still, what a couple of weeks for Sloane after losing in the first round in her first two tournaments back from that long injury layoff. She made back-to-back semifinals, last week in Toronto and then here again in Cincinnati. Surely, she must be pleased with that run ahead of the U.S. Open. She’s already back inside the top 100 as of Monday, landing somewhere in the early 80s. If I’m her, I’m not sure playing New Haven next week is a good idea.

JR: Well, you know me, I think playing New Haven is almost always a bad idea. :)

JN: Is that the one that Wozniacki always plays before the U.S. Open? You have something to say about that every year!

JR: Yeah, Caro and Petra play it often. Onto the men: we need to talk about the Nadal-Kyrgios match last night. It was a plain awful performance by Rafa, but I’m actually more interested in the live crowd’s reaction to Nick.

JR: I thought you’d be happy to celebrate but I guess not. You’ll be watching tons of semifinal matches on your birthday. The men’s are allllllmost decided.

JN: As I type, Nadal has just been broken by Kyrgios to start the final men’s quarterfinal. Nadal and Kyrgios are both pulling double duty today, having both won their Round of 16 matches earlier today.

JR: Rafa took out Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6, 6-2; NK beat Karlovic in 3. If Nick is motivated, which he normally is against the top guys, this could be bad news for Rafael. He just held very easily to go up 2-0.

JN: Rafa hasn’t looked especially sharp in his two matches so far, so we shall see. Nick has been struggling with his hip injury for quite some time now, so conventional wisdom would dictate playing two matches in one day to be too much, but nothing with Nick is ever conventional.

JR: Earlier on Grandstand, David Ferrer upset Dominic Thiem pretty convincingly. Daveed served incredibly well, looked to finish at the net surprisingly often, and forced Dominic back on returns. He lost 9 - NINE! - points on his serve for the entire match. Thiem for his part was just so underwhelming. Lots of negative emotion out there, and a total lack of patience. Tried to crush way too many balls when it wasn’t the right time.

JN: Welp, double break 3-0 lead for Kyrgios. Back to Thiem, we talked earlier how he has quite a long way to go before he can take that next step like Zverev has, and it boils down to how much he goes for ALL the time. But, this is not news. I’m really surprised by how many players pulling double duty today got the job done.

JR: Pliskova went 3 against Giorgi, and then came back a few hours later to stun Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2. Sloane Stephens started slowly against Makarova but took her out in 3, and then got past streaking Julia Goerges to reach the semis. Oh, to be young. Sloane has now re-entered the top 100 off the strength of 4 events.

JN: Halep was the other quarterfinal on the women’s side; she beat Konta 6-4 7-6 after squandering a handful of match points before taking the tiebreak. Feels like that was a mightily important win for Halep...can you imagine if she wasn’t able to close that one out? Yikes. So, the two women’s semis are set: (1) Pliskova vs (4) Muguruza and (2) Halep vs Stephens. Not bad, right?!?! The women have been delivering the goods for a while now.

JR: I think Mugu-Pleesh will be great; both are feeling themselves lately, and Muguruza has had to fight in her last two matches. Based on those performances and her pressers, I think she feels she has something to prove at WTA events. I believe Halep will have her hands full with Sloane, especially if Simona gives her opponent chance after chance to get back into the match.

JN: I’ll leave you to the predictions game. All I’ll add is that Muguruza and Pliskova have both seemed really confident in press; I think that bodes well for them into the U.S. Open. As for the other men’s matches: Isner beat Donaldson 7-6 7-5 to set up a semi with Grigor who beat Sugita handily 6-2 6-1. The other semi will be Ferrer against either Nadal or Kyrgios, and Kyrgios just served out the first set 6-2.

JR: You know what, I was being unfair to Simona. She handled Konta, who is pounding the ball, even if it took her a few tries. Back to the men: are you saying that Isner broke serve? Omg. But you may be right in your prediction that we’ll have an American finalist; it’s even possible we’ll have an American winner. Oof. I hope that Grigor puts together a great performance, because Grigor has a beautiful game and well, you know.

JN: Isner’s been breaking serve all summer! Someone needed to call Bette Midler because this men’s draw needed some serious wind beneath its wings. I almost feel like we’re bound to have a real surprise winner, which would point to Ferrer or Isner. With all the injuries on the ATP and withdrawals, nothing should be considered a given. Nadal holds for 1-0 to start the second set.

JR: This is normally when I would predict Jo Tsonga to win, but alas, he lost long ago. With that, let’s say goodbye and get me a damn margarita.

JN: Shouldn’t you be getting ME a margarita since it’s MY birthday eve?!?!

JR: We’re here watching Sveta and Mugu on Center - the Wimbledon champ is racing to the finish line, it seems. Such incredible hitting from her, court positioning, everything looks good today.

JN: You just told me this morning that you think she’s going to win the whole tournament. I think you’re just a Garbiñe convert at this point; she mesmerized you in her All Access Hour and that was that!

JR: She’s very charismatic, there’s no denying that. I was right about Garbi winning Wimbledon, and with Venus and Madison out in Cincinnati, I don’t feel so guilty predicting a victory here. I love Svetlana, but it doesn’t look like it’s going her way today.

JN: Ahhhhh, as of right now we’re on track to have seven of the eight top seeds on the women’s side make the quarters, no reason why Konta, Svitolina, or even Halep can’t take her out eventually. AND, I didn’t even mention Pliskova or Woz; Caro’s bound to win one eventually, no?

JR: That’s true. Sure, I would say that once you reach six finals in a year, you’re likely to win one. Of course, Pliskova is defending champion here, and as she mentioned in press, has learned to bend her knees ever so slightly more than last year! I am most looking forward to Konta-Halep, the first night session match Friday, a rematch of their incredible Wimbledon quarterfinal. Which upcoming matches are you excited about?

JN: I was hoping that Garbiñe and Sveta would be far more competitive - Muguruza is up 6-2 3-2 with a break as we type. I think Thiem vs Ferrer could be quite good to kick things off tonight on the Grandstand; Ferrer looks like he’s back to playing well again. The lowkey match of the day -- "lowkey" based on how the scheduling was done anyway -- is Pliskova vs Wozniacki, provided Karolina can win her first match of the day against Giorgi. Other than that, Nadal vs Kyrgios tonight could be dynamite if, like Pliskova, they win their first of two matches today. But, you are right, Halep vs Konta should be top stuff too.

JR: Unfortunately Thiem-Ferrer will be played at the same time as Konta-Halep. Ferrer sure is having a great stretch, having beaten countryman PCB here, and Sock and Edmund in Canada. Thiem still works a bit too hard out there for my liking; I think he often makes things too difficult. I hope that he looks to shorten points rather than grind with David.

JN: So, today will be great. But, what have been some of the more exciting moments of the tournament for you so far? For me, the answer is easily the back end of that third set with Kerber and Makarova. The match wasn’t anything special up until that point, but a 13-11 tiebreak finish with all those squandered match points by Makarova sure brought the drama. Not sure I’d ever seen anything like that in person before, so that was pretty special.

JR: I enjoyed CoCo-Madison and Mugu-Madison, which is a big reason I chose to write about those matches. I have to admit that I am transfixed by all-out aggression and power. The way Keys and Muguruza especially hit the ball is unearthly to watch in person. I’m also becoming a Carla Suarez Navarro fan! She lost to Kuznetsova on Court 10, but that match was a perfect storm of aesthetics: jocky and colorful kits on both players, an intimate and sunken court, Carla’s strong and cheeky backhand, and Sveta’s everything.

JN: Agreed 100% on Carla. We saw her in Toronto last week against Petra, and it almost didn’t even matter whether she was winning or not, if that makes sense? There’s an inherent beauty to the way she plays and how she strikes the ball, that I don’t think comes across at all on TV. We’ve talked a lot about Court 9 at Cincinnati the last couple of years, and it’s now Court 10! The tournament added another court (a new Court 5) which then pushed back the other courts by one digit.

JR: Changing the subject, what is something about the Cincinnati tournament that you think people should know?

JN: While the cocktails are a bit pricy, the margaritas here are da bomb (and I don’t even normally drink margaritas!). Nice and concise response, eh? Meanwhile, Muguruza called for Sumyk while she was still up a break in the middle of this second set, and Sveta’s just been unstoppable since. Muguruza now has to serve to stay in the set at 4-5. How quickly things can change!

JR: Yaasss Don Julio margaritas - and these bartenders make them strong. I think the organizers spend a lot of time thinking about the fan experience. There’s tons of seating, water is free (imagine!), there is a huge variety of food, and there's beer and cocktails everywhere you turn. As long as you can dodge the clueless drunk rich people, you’re set.

JN: I’m going to take this opportunity to do a bit of plugging for our next episode of The Body Serve: we’ve got an interview with Francoise Abanda coming your way! I have to say, she was delightful and can’t wait for y’all to hear it.

​JR: It was wonderful talking with her - she felt like a real person and answered questions thoughtfully. This Kuznetsova-Muguruza match is getting really good now; Sveta just won the second set, gotta go. Check out the rest of our writing on this site, and stay tuned for the podcast. Til next time. (Ha! I got to say it this time!)

The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
​Episode 92

​We're excited to bring you a sit-down chat with the first Canadian player on our podcast, up and coming Montrealer Francoise Abanda. We also answer some of the questions you all were so generous to ask us, with the help of friend and listener Chad. The rest is just us: recapping the stunning Muguruza-Kuznetsova quarterfinal, the perplexing men's draw, Querrey's rudeness, and more happenings from on-site.

2:00 Muguruza-Kuznetsova insta-classic 8:00 The odd men's draw: Rafa the only superstar left9:20 Odds and ends - Giorgi's no handshake, Sam Querrey's abominable behavior, Makarova-Kerber epic15:00 Thiem - our analysis of Thiem proved to portentous (lost to Ferrer after we taped)18:00 Our sit-down with Francoise Abanda, our first Canadian player on the pod!32:20 Our listener mailbag, with the silky Southern stylings of Chad (@ccsmooth13)36:30 Most importantly, what's good to eat here?
​45:30 Question from @AnnaMarseille: have any players changed your impression of them after speaking with them in person?

It wasn’t always pretty, but Garbiñe​ Muguruza powered through Madison Keys’ sustained aggression, a 2-hour rain delay, and three match points against her to win a third-set tiebreaker against the in-form American. The Spaniard survived a tough test in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon, handling unpredictable conditions and an opponent whom she had never beaten. Keys had won their previous three meetings: here in 2012, in Rome on her way to the final in 2016, and in Stanford just two weeks ago.

Keys got off to a fast start, punctuated by a dazzling down the line forehand to secure the early break and 2-0 lead. Muguruza, unnerved, broke right back in the next game, the trade of early breaks setting the tone for the rest of the match. The serving struggles were in no small part due to the wind -- a portent of the wild thunderstorm to come -- which wreaked havoc on both players from the onset. But, it was Keys’ ball toss that seemed to be the most affected.

Still, Keys inched ahead on serve to 4-3, before Muguruza left the court for treatment on a lower back problem. When she returned, her thigh taped, the Spaniard took control of the first set and sped to the finish line: she held serve, broke Keys, and served it out with little fanfare. In their previous three meetings, the loser of the first set went on to lose the match; would this match prove different?

After six straight service holds to start the second set, Keys broke to go up 5-3. Serving for the set, the American handled a tough shoelace volley, and launched a deft lob to reach set point. She then bagged the set with a trademark wide serve and inside-out forehand combination, one that she used effectively throughout the match.

With the match in the balance at 2-2 in the third set, the Mason skies produced an almighty storm, delaying the proceedings for two hours. When the thunder and lightning abated, Keys sprinted away with a 4-2 lead in the decider; but, in what was the story of this third set, her untimely errors squandered the multiple leads and chances she held. Still, Keys kept coming, breaking again with a barrage of winners to serve for the match at 6-5.

With the match on her racquet and a 40-15 lead, Keys failed to convert three match points, undone mostly by the unpredictability of her backhand. While Keys was erratic in the key moments, Muguruza remained steadfast, returning with extreme aggression and drawing costly mistakes from Keys.

Muguruza credited her experience in getting her through tough moments: “I knew that no matter what, I’m there and I have my options as well . . . sooner or later I’m going to have a chance.”

That chance came in the third-set tiebreaker. The Spaniard’s sustained aggression finally wore down Keys. After failing to serve out the match and squandering three match points, Keys doubled down with error after error in the tiebreak, thanks in no small part to Muguruza’s brilliant stretch of hitting from the backcourt. A final backhand error sealed the win for Muguruza after 2 hours and 18 minutes.

The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
​Episode 91

​Join us for Round 2 of player pressers - you'll hear good stuff from no. 1 Pliskova, Kerber, Domi Thiem, Wozniacki, Halep, and Svitolina. But first, we catch you up with what's been going on in Cincinnati in our own words: Venus blazing through her first match, Fabio-Dominic play a strange one, the heat, and balancing the packed schedule despite of the withdrawals.

1:00 What we've been up to in Cincinnati today6:00 The men's draw was already a huge mess - and then Fabio barfed on court9:15 Venus plays an efficient, powerful match against Alison Riske14:30 Watching Ash Barty in singles and doubles (Venus' next opponent)20:50 Meeting tons of Tennis Twitter folks in Cincinnati25:45 What is going on with the famous Applebee's?27:00 Getting into the player interview snippets 32:00 Simona on another level no passengers on her plane ....40:00 Elina Svitolina talks about her steady rise44:30 Mega Thiem talks about why he recaps his matches on Facebook46:26 Angie Kerber brings the honesty51:00 Karolina Pliskova is funny!
​54:45 A few words from Caroline Wozniacki

Venus Williams, donning an atypical white baseball cap, led from start to finish as she blitzed past Alison Riske 6-2 6-0 in her opening match in Cincinnati. Williams served with intent from the first ball. The four points she won to take the opening game came on first serves clocking 109, 110, 105, and the last a 108 mph ace out wide to Riske's backhand. Despite Venus' quick 2-0 lead, Riske was playing well, and fought back to tie the match at two games apiece. Game on.

​Or so we thought. The pivotal moment of the match came with Riske facing break point at 2-3; after a prolonged, intense rally, Riske seemed to wrest control of the point when she lured Venus into the net with a stealthy drop shot. Instead, Venus sprinted forward and with one last audible thud of her right foot, pelted a cross court forehand winner to seal the decisive break. The crowd roared as Venus made her way back to the service line with a 4-2 lead. Riske would not win another game.

​Yes, Venus Williams is 37 years old. But, like she did in making the finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, Venus showed that she still cuts a fierce and intimidating figure as weekly contender, regardless of age. At 2-5, and having played well to that point, Riske called her coach to the court; what could she possibly do to stem the Venus tide? Her main failure to that point was to protect her second serve: up to 2-5 and 30-all, Riske had yet to win a point when made to serve twice. Venus would go on to win the first set 6-2 and win eight of nine points on Riske's second serve.

The last glimmer of an opening for Riske came in the third game of the second set with Venus serving at 2-0, 15-30. But, Venus summoned another of her seven aces to stifle that opportunity, and her subsequent break for 4-0 sealed it shut. All told, Williams broke Riske six times, while losing her own serve just once. Her first serve, of which she lost only four points, was the fortress that kept Riske at bay.

​With the match at just a touch over an hour, Venus fired one final forehand winner to seal the win 6-2 6-0. It was, in short, one of the cleanest and most efficient performances you will see from Venus Williams, her serve and groundstrokes working together like a well-oiled machine. She improves her record against Riske to 3-0, all straight-set victories in the last 18 months. Up next, Williams will face Ashleigh Barty, 21, in their first ever meeting. Barty, a qualifier ranked 48th in the world, defeated Varvara Lepchenko 6-4 6-4 on Tuesday.

This match was always going to be decided on the serve; it just wasn’t clear whose serve that would be. Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe -- a study in similarities on court and contrasts off -- traded momentum shifts and the rare service break in a 1 hour 56 minute first-round match at Cincinnati on Monday. The Americans, who dictate with first serves and huge returns, are arguably the most likely Americans under 30 to win a Slam; they are also both prone to wild swings in concentration and accuracy.

In this rematch of the Stanford final -- which Keys won in two tight sets -- it was easy to appreciate both players’ intensity and power off the ground. Keys came out of the gate strong, pounding returns to earn a break in the third game. At one point in the first set, 14 straight points were won by the server (two holds at love for Keys, one for Vandeweghe). Both players protected their serves with ease after Madison’s early break, but Keys and her ground game drew sloppy errors from CoCo to decide the set.

Vandeweghe pounced to a 3-0 lead in the second set after breaking Keys’ serve. CoCo did a good job to stay tight to the baseline, her aggression forcing Madison to produce a rash of errors. Serving for the set at 5-3, Vandeweghe scrambled to return an overhead smash by Keys and finished the point with a brilliant pass. She won the set with a 117 mph unreturnable serve.

​
​The third set saw Madison race to a 3-0 lead, aided by a few poorly timed double faults from this year’s Australian Open semifinalist. At that point, Madison couldn’t miss; even her mishits clipped the lines. Despite CoCo’s comeback to tie the set at three games apiece, it was Keys’ serve that would ultimately decide the match.

At 5-3, CoCo saved three straight match points, but Madison closed her out 6-3 to bring their head-to-head to 2-0. After the match Madison noted, “It’s never easy to play a friend.” The two shared a warm embrace at net after the match, like they did two weeks ago in Stanford, and it was Keys who was again the victor.

Keys’ serve guided her through the tensest moments of the third set. It got her out of trouble when Vandeweghe erased Keys’ 3-0 lead: “In my head I was just thinking, you’re back on serve. It’s back even, and just focus on your serve and see if you get any chances in return games. And luckily I did.”

​That game plan can be exciting in its simplicity. There is a terrible beauty to 115 mph serves, to Madison’s graceful ball toss with her palm raised toward the heavens, to CoCo’s menacing forward motion. Women’s tennis must always defend itself on many fronts, from style to athleticism to economics. But, Keys and Vandeweghe led the night session in a tournament marred by withdrawals, reminding fans that American women’s tennis is thriving. There was magic tonight in two women facing off, thumping the stitching out of the ball, sounding their yawps over the rooftops of American tennis.

The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
​Episode 90

Welcome to our second episode from the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. We are again recording in our car, but this time we've also got outtakes from Monday's player roundtables. On this episode, you'll hear from Muguruza, Nadal, Kuznetsova, and Konta ahead of their opening matches. Nadal dishes on today's news that he will officially regain the world #1 ranking after Cincinnati, a thoughtful Muguruza reflects on her career as a two-time Slam winner, while Kuznetsova and Konta provide a whole lot of levity to the proceedings. Stay tuned to our upcoming episodes this week for more player outtakes from Monday's roundtables. ​
​

​02:00 James gives his thoughts on his first ever player roundtable interviews
11:20 Muguruza reflects on being a two-time Slam champion
13:36 Garbiñe gives insight into learning how to keep things closer to the vest, navigate media
16:26 "I like that I like to be in those situations" - Muguruza on embracing the big stages
20:45 Reflecting on her emotional French Open press conference
26:22 Nadal responds to news of reclaiming world #1 ranking
31:35 Sveta for President?
34:29 Who Sveta texts with most, and a BIG BIG laugh
35:36 Konta commits to fun and games, segues to Wimby reflections
40:29 How Jo deals with the trolls: block block block block
44:59 Jo's take on some of the funniest players on the WTA

The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
​Episode 89

We're on the road to Cincinnati, Ohio from Toronto, basking in Dr Peppers & American junk food. This is our first totally unedited podcast, recorded and uploaded straight from the car. We're catching up on the summer hardcourt season: seeing Venus, Ostapenko, and Kvitova in Toronto; Rafa-Shapovalov in Montreal; Sloane's return and Madison's win in Stanford. We also preview the blockbuster first rounds in Cincy: Madison-Coco and Sharapova-Ostapenko.
​

​00:30 What we really sound like, without edits!
05:00 Opening Monday at the Rogers Cup Toronto07:30 Ostapenko loses to Lepchenko but shows how great she can be13:45 Petra's back!15:30 Venus takes the long way, but beats Begu at 11 pm18:10 A bit of kvetching about annoying fans26:00 Young Canadian Shapovalov beats Nadal in MTL30:15 Is it Fedal the rest of the way in 2017? Who else? Zverev.35:50 Madison Keys is here! And other US hardcourt news38:00 Previewing the Cincinnati Masters, big first round match-ups46:00 What we're personally looking forward to in Cincy